When Splendora powered to an impressive 4 ¾-length victory in the Breeders’ Cup Filly & Mare Sprint (G1) last fall, it not only marked her first graded stakes score but established her as a major player in the division.
Having made her 2026 debut in the D. Wayne Lukas Stakes (G2) a winning one, the 5-year-old daughter of Audible is now poised to reach millionaire status as she rides a four-race winning streak into Saturday’s $300,000 Beholder Mile (G1) at Santa Anita.
Splendora kicked off her current streak when Hall of Fame trainer Bob Baffert cut her back to 6 furlongs following a pair of runner-up finishes going two turns in the Santa Maria Stakes and the Santa Margarita Stakes, both Grade 2s, at Santa Anita. She pulled away to a 3½-length win in that optional claimer and followed up with a 5 ½-length score in the listed Tranquility Lake in her final tuneup for the Breeders’ Cup.
In the 7-furlong D. Wayne Lukas, she fell behind after tossing her head at the start but regrouped under jockey Juan Hernandez and pulled clear in the stretch to a 1 ¾-length victory, hitting the wire in 1:22.
“She is such a good filly. She just gives me chills,” said Baffert, who won the race last year with Cavalieri and in 2022 with As Time Goes By. “She missed the break and got behind, but Juan rode her with a lot of confidence.”
Splendora, who drew post 4, had her final serious move for the Beholder on Feb. 28, covering 6 furlongs in 1:11.40.
Purchased for $125,000 at the 2022 Fasig-Tipton Kentucky Select Yearling Sale, Splendora has finished first or second in 10 of 11 starts and earned over $980,000. She was bred in Maryland by The Elkstone Group.
After failing to break her maiden in 12 starts – eight of them on the turf – Nafisa finally found her niche last fall, when she nosed out Lubie’s Music going 6½ furlongs on the main track. Following a front-running score in an optional claimer, she became a graded stakes winner in the 1 1/16-mile La Canada (G3) on Jan. 24.
A daughter of Quality Road, Nafisa fetched $1.8 million as the Fasig-Tipton yearling sale and carries the colors of Amr F. Zedan, one of Baffert’s most loyal owners.
Other graded stakes winners in the field include Om N Joy, who took the Torrey Pine (G3) two starts back, and Dazzling Move, winner of the Royal Delta (G3) a year ago at Gulfstream Park, who will be making her 24th lifetime start.
Trainers Brad Cox, who took the 2023 edition with A Mo Reay, and Michael McCarthy, who saddled 2024 winner Sweet Azteca and Ce Ce, who won in 2020, both enter with relative newcomers to their respective barns.
Making her second start since joining Cox’s barn is Qatar Racing and Mountmellick Farm’s Bless the Broken, who fetched $950,000 in November at the Fasig-Tipton Kentucky Fall Mixed Sale. The graded stakes-placed daughter of Laoban scored a gritty two-length victory in an optional claimer at the Fair Ground under Florent Geroux, who will be aboard from post position 5.
Previously trained by Will Walden, Bless the Broken was third in the 2025 Kentucky Oaks (G1) behind Good Cheer and was then fourth to La Cara in the Acorn Stakes (G1) at Saratoga.
McCarthy will be represented by Simply Joking, who joined his barn last year. After an eventful debut for him in the Raven Run Stakes (G2) – she was ninth, beaten 20 ¾ lengths – Simply Joking returned to finish second to Hope Road in the Bayakoa Stakes (G3) and third to Usha in the La Brea Stakes (G1). While in the care of Whit Beckman, Simply Joking broke her maiden in the Letelier Memorial and next triumphed in the Silverbulletday Stakes, both at the Fair Grounds. She also finished second in the Fantasy Stakes (G2).
Expect the early stages to be lively. Several fillies bring natural speed, and a contested pace seems likely through the opening half mile. That should give the stalkers a favorable setup – tracking comfortably before launching their bids around the far turn. From there, it could become a test of timing – who moves first, and who has enough left for the final furlong.
Nafisa comes in off a front-running stakes win, and heavy favorite Splendora has shown she’s capable of taking a field wire-to-wire, as has Simply Joking, though Bless the Broken and Splendora may have an edge with their tactical speed. Om N Joy adds an element of intrigue if she’s ready off the layoff, while Dazzling Move will need a major turnaround if she wants to make an impact.
The Beholder Mile post time is 4:34 p.m. ET (race 4). The race is one of 11 on Saturday’s card, which also features the San Felipe Stakes (G2), a Kentucky Derby prep, and the Santa Anita Handicap (G1) for older horses.
Jenny Kellner is an award-winning journalist and teacher who has covered thoroughbred racing for years. As a reporter for both United Press International and The Associated Press, her work has appeared in publications and on websites around the world. Jenny has also written for The New York Times, the New York Post, Newsday and Sports Illustrated.
